


It's Good

by Blue_fantasy



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dark Dimension (Marvel), F/M, Ghost Rider - Freeform, Hell, Koenig family getting things done, POV Robbie Reyes, POV Skye | Daisy Johnson, Post episode 4.22 canon divergence, Slow Burn, Spirit of Vengeance, The Darkhold (Marvel), The Zephyr - Freeform, Time Di'Alla, Time Travel, Traveling to the Future, but looks at how Robbie coming back would change things, hell charger, monolith, that tries to stay as close to canon as possible, the lighthouse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:01:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29170017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_fantasy/pseuds/Blue_fantasy
Summary: As Robbie and Daisy grow closer, their responsibilities keep pulling them apart. They struggle with the challenges their oaths bring upon them, but keep finding themselves back together, fighting side-by-side, looking out for one another and the people they care about. The more time they spend apart, the more life-threatening situations they find themselves in, the more they realize what the other means to them. As feelings change and grow, they each wrestle with how to handle them.
Relationships: Robbie Reyes/Skye | Daisy Johnson
Comments: 30
Kudos: 37





	1. Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire

**Author's Note:**

> This is a one-shot I wrote after completing Season 4 50 years after everyone else, realizing Robbie never comes back into Daisy's life, and deciding I needed to imagine a world where he did. This is my post-episode 4.22 elaboration.
> 
> I may write more as I watch seasons 5 through 7, trying to weave a Quakerider storyline with as much of the canon story as time and inspiration allow.
> 
> UPDATE: This is definitely more than a one-shot 😁

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

May 12, 2017

The Playground, Covert S.H.I.E.L.D. Facility

Somewhere in the United States of America

“You really have to leave right away?” She asked already knowing the answer but finding something inside her that had to ask. Last time she didn’t know he was going to be gone. And when he was gone, it was just another person she cared for that she thought she’d never see again. She wasn’t quite sure the exact moment Robbie fell into that category, but now he was there and she wanted more time with him.

“Yeah,” he answered as Coulson carried the Darkhold over to him. “I have to get this book someplace safe.” She understood this. Burden. Responsibility. A calling. She had her own, here, with S.H.I.E.L.D. With her family. She knew that now. But this. This was Robbie’s. She knew she couldn’t argue with that. 

And letting Robbie go to take care of that book was part of her burden as well. The burden of letting things happen for the good of humanity even if it hurts for her.

As her friends approached Robbie in their silent good-byes, she stood off to the side watching him, not taking her eyes off him for fear of missing even one moment, trying to etch his face in her mind. He kept his eyes on her as well, as if pleading with her to what? Understand? Forgive? Have patience?

“Keep an eye on my brother?” Oh. She nodded in agreement, a hint of a smile on her lips as assurance. But he continued to hold her gaze as if trying to hold on to the moment like her.

“The gateway is almost ready,” Jemma informed him, breaking the spell.

“Don’t need it,” he said as his eyes lingered on her and then glanced at her friend. “I learned a few things since you saw me last.” Daisy watched as did that thing with one eyebrow raised when he got excited, in a happy way. A proud little smirk spread across his face as he looked back at her and then to Coulson. He was like a boy in that split second, proud to tell his friends he was learning and growing, getting stronger and more powerful, becoming more resourceful.

Robbie turned around and gripped his chain. Gone was the giddy expression from seconds ago as his face turned serious with focus. As the chain whipped and swirled, Daisy’s eyes followed it in wonder. Soon, the swirling circle of sparks before them revealed a dark ominous landscape on the other side of the portal, the Rider's Chain wrapping back around his torso.

He turned back and Coulson handed him the book. “I don’t envy you,” Robbie said to the man who had just returned his cursed spirit rider back to him, concern in his eyes. Daisy couldn’t help but wonder what deal Coulson had struck and wished she had time to talk the details out of Robbie because Coulson wasn't going to tell her any time soon.

“I was gonna say the same to you,” her boss said back. 

Daisy ached as she watched her friend look down at the book in his hands, the weight of his responsibility dawning on him once again. A reminder of the sacrifice he made. He turned back toward the portal and stopped. Why was it hurting so much? They hardly know one another. Then why were her fingers twitching with the urge to reach out and hug him before he walked through? Heck, it was an urge to hug and pull him back to convince him to stay just a while longer. But she had some idea of the weight he carried and she had to keep herself under control.

When he looked back at her at that moment, her heart flipped in the hope that he might change his mind. Not another word spoken but so much said. She gave him a reassuring smile and he returned with a nod. A nod that told her she would see him again. And then he turned away and she watched him disappear through the circling sparks.

As she stared at the now empty space, Daisy could hear May challenging Coulson about what Robbie had said to him. In the back of her mind, she wanted to know the answer to this, but at that moment, she was worlds away trying to imagine where Robbie had gone, what he was going to have to endure, and how long it might take this time around for the Rider to finish this mission.

There was a small relief in being able to wonder when he might return. That there was a good possibility he would return, even if it took a long while. A flash suddenly came to her mind of the second she realized she was going to lose Lincoln forever and there was nothing she could do about it. She shook her head as if to shake the memory back into its neat little container where she kept it sealed away inside of her mind, a box she only opened in moments of solitude and calm. It had been a while since she had been able to open it. Why was it popping open now? 

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

They were coming for them. All of them. And they were a team. A family.

As she reassured Fitz that he had nothing to apologize for, she finally got it. Understood how much she needed them, needed to be a part of this. And they needed her.

“If there’s a price to pay, we pay it together,” May chimed in.

"Amen," Jemma added.

“Anyone else hungry?” Coulson asked. “I’m not saying we’re definitely gonna get locked up, but if we are, I wouldn’t mind grabbing a bite to eat first.”

The team, seeming to all be in agreement, headed to their ride. But Daisy had one more thing to do before they left and possibly got locked up for an unknown amount of time. Checking for her phone in her jacket pocket, she turned to find a quiet corner down the hall.

“The food is this way, Tremors,” Mack called after her.

“She has a promise to keep,” she heard Coulson answer. “She’ll be right behind us.”

She lifted her phone to her ear and heard him pick up on the first ring.

“Is he back?” She heard the hopeful voice ask. “Please, Daisy, tell me you have good news.”

“Hi, Gabe,” she responded followed by a pause as she tried to collect her thoughts and words knowing in the end, Robbie’s brother wouldn’t be happy with what she had to tell him. “Um, well, I can tell you he is okay. He did come back, briefly, from like hell, or wherever.”

“Oh, good. That’s good,” she could hear the relief wash over him making the next thing she had to say even harder.

“But he only stayed for a short while. The Rider, his, um, partner, had a mission and they had to return to, um ya know--”

“Hell,” Gabe finished for her, his tone completely deflated.

“But, he is okay and he’ll be back,” she responded in an upbeat note that didn’t quite seem to fit the reality of the situation. “He asked me to look after you, so I just wanted to give you an update and, well, you might not be able to reach me for a little while, but as soon as I’m able, I’ll come to take you for a ride in Robbie’s Charger. I’m putting it somewhere safe for now until I can get it back to you.”

There was silence on the line and she would have thought he had hung up on her if it weren’t for his steady breathing.

“Sounds good, Daisy. I know my brother trusted you so the same goes for me. Be safe and I’ll see you sooner rather than later, hopefully.”

“You got it, kid. Take care of yourself. Of course, I know you will,” Daisy heard him hang up and slid her phone back into her pocket, striding quickly to catch up with her team.

“Everything good?” Coulson asked when she came in sight.

“Yeah,” she answered. “Um, so, Robbie’s car?”

“Already taken care of. Called Agent Koenig while you were on the phone.”

“That’s good,” she nodded. “Thanks.”

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

As Daisy dipped and dragged her fries through the ketchup, she listened to Coulson’s musings to her right. But Jemma and Fitz’s silence to her left seemed louder than anything else in that diner. The joy in their collective relief to be out of the framework, to be together again, and be eating some delicious carb-loaded comfort food was juxtaposed with the heartache she felt for Jemma and Fitz’s pain, for Mack losing Hope all over again, for Lincoln, a loss she had yet to fully process and wondered if she ever would. In just a couple of weeks, it would be a year since she lost him and she had spent most of that time on the run rather than slowing down and processing. Maybe if they did lock her up for a while, it would give her the time she needed. But one thing she knew for sure, she didn’t want to be alone.

This was the closest she had ever felt to being at peace. She wasn’t kidding herself that she would ever truly find a peaceful life. Between her powers and her job and the people she cared most about, her life would always be far from uneventful. But here in this moment, she had her family back and she couldn’t ignore the warmth she felt whenever she thought about Robbie and the anticipation of his return. There was a hopefulness in their growing friendship, even if it would be filled with long stretches apart.

“You know, I think this is the first time we’ve all been together in a really long time,” Coulson continued on.

“Anybody have room for some pie?” Their waitress asked as she sauntered back over to her end of the counter.

Daisy’s ears perked up and she listened as the woman rattled off all the pie choices. She was definitely going to have some pie. And as soon as she was done with her interrogation or incarceration or whatever was about to come, she would pick up Gabe in Robbie’s Charger and take him for some pie. Pie just sounded so amazing.

And then, with a crackle and buzz of electricity, everything around her went black. Just as quickly, there seemed to be floodlights pouring in through the windows.

“Here we go,” May said as she crumpled her napkin and dropped it on her plate.

The sound of boots kicking in doors and marching into the room along with the jangling of tactical gear told Daisy all she needed to know. They were a team and it was time to be one as they all raised their hands in surrender. So much for the pie. It would have to wait until that visit to Gabe.

“Phillip J. Coulson,” said a man behind them.

“Yep, that’s me,” said the man sitting to her right who had been more of a father to her than anyone. “You got us. Nice job. And hey, congrats on the whole power outage thing. That was very ominous.”

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

He could feel the portal close behind him, hear the hissing of the sparks go silent. At that moment, he closed his eyes and let the spirit take the wheel. In this world, Robbie knew he was the passenger. As the Ghost Rider sauntered forward on his mission, Darkhold in hand, Robbie retreated in his mind, clinging to the image imprinted there. The image of the last friendly face he would see for a long time. 

And how glad he was that it was her, that she was there. It gave him hope to hold on to as he traversed the horrors of this place. Hope that he would have a friend when he returned, that his brother wouldn’t have to worry about his lonely big brother and feel obligated to plan his life around him. He had a friend, something he couldn’t say he’d had for a long time. And she came with a whole team of support. They were good people. Even if he didn’t really want to be friends with all of them, it was good knowing they were there looking after Gabe whenever he would have to leave. And it was good knowing Daisy finally had her people back. Even though he’d like to believe they’d gained a friend in each other, he knew he couldn't be the type of friend Daisy always needed. And, again, he wouldn’t always be there.

He thought about Daisy a lot since they first met. She drove him crazy at the beginning and he just wanted her gone, out of his life. But slowly, he grew comfortable around her. Maybe it was because he finally found another person who understood him in some small way and that he didn’t have to hide what he was and what he was dealing with. He could be honest with her, open. And she never expected anything from him, nothing in return for her kindness and compassion which just made him want to open up to her more, let her in even more.

This really hit him when she showed up, the first one to find him after his return. The fact that she found him so fast. That it was her and not some other agent. It felt like it meant something to him, even if maybe she didn't mean anything by it other than just doing her job.

If he was honest with himself, if he were a regular guy, he’d probably be half in love with her by this point. But there wasn’t much room for that with the path he was on. And Daisy had her own romantic baggage she still needed to deal with. Those two points alone, helped him hold his feelings at bay. 

He just wished he’d had more time. Maybe time to grab a drink with her or take a drive and just be there with each other for a while. He wished he’d given in to his urge to hug her before he left but the mood didn’t seem right. It felt awkward and so he left it at memorizing her face, studying her every little detail, and etching it to his brain before disappearing into Hell.

He wasn’t very long into his journey, following the pull to where the Darkhold needed to go when he felt something. An uneasiness, maybe. Whatever it was, it made him feel like something was out of place. He knew he could not try to deter the Spirit until he had fulfilled his mission. Even then, it would be difficult to pull him from his path of vengeance. But as the hours and days passed and Robbie lost track of all sense of time, he couldn’t shake this dull sense of anxiety and dread. Of fear that the only two people he cared for in the world were not safe.


	2. If I Ever See Another Monolith...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy finds herself with the Team in a dystopian future that may have been her fault. Robbie is determined to complete his mission and be rid of the Darkhold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a part of the canon divergence aligned with episodes 5.01-5.10. Canon dialogue and scenes are woven into this AU.

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

One moment she had her hands up in surrender looking at the frightened face of the waitress in the diner. The next moment she was standing behind her friends in a non-descript room with some huge white object before them. She glanced around at her friends. Someone was missing. She tilted her head to get a better look and the object in the center of the room and her heart stopped. As soon as she realized what it was, it began to liquefy, reaching out and engulfing each of her friends as she stood helpless. A fraction of a second later, she herself was swallowed up by this white monolith.

And a fraction of a second after that, she was standing in some sort of bunker. It was old and dingy. As she surveyed the room, she guessed it could have been a fallout shelter from the 1950s. The place definitely had a 70-years-of-neglect look to it. But Daisy's biggest concern was not the condition of the space she found herself in but the fact that she was alone, not a friend in sight.

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

As Robbie drifted along with the Rider, he kept fixating on the sense of dread he began to feel not long after leaving his world. He could sense a similar unease in his companion. Every so often, he caught a passing thought of Coulson along with a wave of anger. He’d had enough time sharing headspace with this spirit to know that these were not his own concerns, but rather emanating from the Rider. Something must have happened to disrupt the deal Coulson made. But he just couldn’t imagine what could have happened. If Coulson died, the Rider would be satisfied. Robbie racked his brain to try and come up with an explanation. There was a sinking in his gut that this was connected to the fear he was feeling over Gabe and Daisy’s safety.

He did have one thing going for him here in Hell. He knew that the Spirit did not want to stay. He had been imprisoned here for a long time before finally escaping and eventually transferring to Robbie. They had been trapped there since he took his uncle with him until they were approached with a deal. This dark cloaked figure led them to a tear between the Dark Dimension and Earth. If they could return the Darkhold to its rightful place in Hell, they would be returned to Earth, the Spirit able to continue his trail of vengeance. And while Robbie wasn’t looking forward to that, he was hoping vanquishing AIDA and returning the book would be enough to earn them a return ticket. But even then, he was going to have to put up a fight to get out of this dimension. He was hoping the anger he felt from the Spirit over Coulson would be enough strength to get them out of there.

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

After a handful of panicked minutes, Daisy found familiar faces. As she caught up with them, she discovered they had deduced that the Team was in outer space on some sort of space station. She had heard her friends arguing as she came upon them. Since coming to, she had been trying to work out all the possibilities in her head, making a mental list of what they could be dealing with. Thinking back to Robbie’s words to Coulson, she decided it was time to confront him.

“So, is there anything you want to fill us in on, Coulson?” She asked aggressively. “‘Cause now’s the time.”

“You know what I know,” he responded. She suspected he was feigning innocence but he had to know what she was talking about. It had only been what felt like an hour earlier when they had been standing there with Robbie at the portal entrance.

“This doesn’t have anything to do with the little bargain that you made with the Ghost Rider?”

“Yeah, that thing doesn’t ride for free,” Mack backed her up and he would know, the only other one in this room to have had that close of an encounter with the Spirit. “There has to be some price.”

“Nope. This is all new to me, “ Coulson responded in a clipped way as if telling them to move on from their current line of questioning. He should have known that they knew him too well. “Sorry. It’s--that’s just the reality.”

At the mention of reality, they all began heatedly talking over one another. Their paranoia over the framework was palpable.

“Look, this is magic, okay?” Mack asked searching for someone to confirm his theory. “Can we all agree there’s some magic at play?”

“Magic is just science we don’t understand yet,” Simmons answered.

“Ah, please,” Mack said in dismissal. “We just got zapped through space by Stonehenge, and we’re trying to rule out the involvement of a flame-headed demon from east L.A.? Science my ass.”

As the team tried to work out their situation and find May, Daisy kept coming back to Coulson’s non-answer about his deal with the Ghost Rider. He wouldn’t answer May earlier and now he wouldn’t answer her. And that was not a good sign. She was becoming more certain with every passing minute that their current situation had nothing to do with that possessing demon, but her mind couldn’t let it go. If Coulson wouldn’t tell her, she was going to have to get it out of Robbie the next time she saw him.

If there would ever be a next time.

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

She was exhausted. All she wanted to do was lay down and sleep. Like real sleep in a real bed. She had slept horribly in a chair on the Zephyr last night, or 70-whatever years ago, as she took turns monitoring Mack with Elena. She didn’t sleep well. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw flashes of her memories from the Framework. Aida’s offer to bring back Lincoln replayed over and over, juxtaposed with Ward’s face as he feared for the loss of his Skye in the Framework. It all got to be too much so she gave up and kept herself occupied monitoring the Framework on the monitors..

Now here they were, about 24 hours later for their bodies, hauling two giant blue aliens they had just killed decades in the future in a survival bunker floating amongst the remnants of a destroyed Earth, no bed in sight. She couldn’t afford to sleep now. She needed to be on the move until they figured their way out of this.

“Daisy, the door.” She heard Yo-Yo call to her. She quickly shut the door between them and the alien roach-infested level where they had just dropped two Cree bodies off for mummification.

As they hustled down the corridor, guy-from-the-future came up next to her. “Daisy?” He asked. “Pretty name.”

She couldn't believe it. They are in this life-or-death situation, which he himself emphasized was leaning more toward the death part and here he is hitting on her. Daisy was incredulous but couldn’t muster enough energy to show it.

“Like the flower?” He added.

“Does that line work in the future?” She returned without even looking at him.

“I guess not,” he said as she paced ahead of him.

But it didn’t take long for Deke to go from flirting to turning her in for profit. That night or what seemed like night as a hush swept through the area of the bunker where she was being kept, she lay in her cot in a cold metal box of a room, a prisoner to Dictator Smurf, fuming over the inhibitor that had been surgically and painfully installed in her spine. She laid there, powerless, staring at the ceiling, tracing the lines of the steel girders with her eyes over and over in a pattern. 

She was fairly certain she had been awake for well over 24 hours if she excluded the gap in her memory before they came to in the room with the monolith. There had only been a brief respite from their adventures, that short time they all had together at the diner. But at the same time, it was hard to believe that the last time she had slept, she had woken up in a chair beside Mack who was still plugged into the Framework. And sleeping sitting up in a chair was not quality sleep. She was beginning to feel her exhaustion in her bones. 

For a while, she tried to fight sleep so she would be ready to take advantage of any change in her situation and get out to find Jemma and join back up with the team. But her mind couldn’t fight it anymore. She began to see detailed memories with Lincoln as if she was reliving them. Lately, that had been how she knew she was in a deep sleep. 

Soon, she was dreaming of herself sitting in the Zephyr, tears streaming down her face as leaned forward and rested her palms on her forehead. She felt an emotional release she hadn’t let herself feel in a while.

“I’m here now,” she heard a familiar voice next to her. She turned her head to peek up and find Robbie looking at her, a small gentle smile on his face but concern in his eyes as if he was worried about her.

“Robbie,” she rasped, still choked up with tears. He reached over and set his hand on her knee.

“Don’t stop here,” he told her.

She held his gaze, remembering that day she heard him tell his story to his brother, the pain in his expression. She watched as that pain returned to his face. It seemed like ages ago that she was imprinting Robbie’s face to her memory and then watching him walk into Hell or wherever it was the Spirit dragged him to. She wondered if time worked the same there. She felt a sense of panic creep up in her mind at the thought of Robbie returning to find that she had never checked in on his brother, that she had disappeared and let him down. Maybe Robbie returned to help her save the Earth. Would he live an average lifespan while merged with that Spirit? Could Robbie still be out there, possessed by the Ghost Rider? Could he still be in Hell 70 years later?

Daisy awakened with a start and sat straight up in her cot.

“Robbie, I don’t know how this whole Spirit of Vengeance possession thing works,” she whispered to no one in the small cell as she looked down at her hands. “But if you happen to still be working with that thing, maybe hanging out in another dimension and you can hear me, we could use your help.” 

She sat there in the silence for a minute and then shook her head, laughing at herself. She was so far from a religious person, much of that doubt stemming from her lonely childhood at the orphanage. But in that brief moment, she let a kernel of that old belief creep in as she prayed for a demonic spirit to come to her rescue.

She dropped her face into her palm, her thumb and fingers pressed to her temples as she listened to the sounds of movement in the corridor outside her cell. She sucked in a deep breath to steel herself for the battle ahead.

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

Daisy couldn’t believe what she was looking at. She watched as Jemma turned the piece of the monolith in her hands, inspecting it. The few days they had spent here in the future had begun to feel more like a lifetime, but seeing that rock brought her right back to the moment she watched them all engulfed by that ominous gray wave. The despair that had begun to wash over her earlier was steadily disappearing.

“It’d be great if Robin could help us fill in the blanks here,” Coulson hoped. “Daisy, you knew her first. Maybe you can get through to her.”

“I can try,” she answered, hope reflecting in her eyes as she looked back at her Team.

Daisy left her teammates and headed for the cockpit of the Zephyr where Robin had made a home for herself over the years. She pushed aside the curtain to find Robin laying on her makeshift mattress, a single tear resting on her cheek, and her wooden carved robin figurine in her hand.

“Thank you, Daisy,” Robin said as if she had just set that bird carving in her hand at that moment, as if it was 2016 and Robin was still a child. She smiled softly and crouched down next to the old woman.

“Your dad would be glad that you still have that,” Daisy responded. She found herself still approaching Robin as if she was a little girl unsure if that was the appropriate tactic. “I, um...promised that I would protect you. And I’m sorry that I couldn’t do more.” She was thinking at that moment about another kid she promised to protect and wondered what Gabe’s fate had been in all of this.

“Life in the Lighthouse and then up here,” she continued. “It...it couldn’t have been easy.”

“My mother always kept me safe,” Robin replied. “She kept Gabe safe, too.”

“Did you just say Gabe?" She was stunned at the name wondering if it was just a coincidence. "Robin, who is Gabe?”

Robin shuffled through a stack of drawings and handed one to Daisy. “He came back for you, Daisy.” She looked down at the drawing. There before her eyes was the unmistakable image of the Ghost Rider with his head in flames, his fiery chain circling around him, and next to him was a woman with black hair in black clothing, her hands reaching out. “Robin, is this The Ghost Rider? Is this Robbie? Is this me?” Daisy’s mind was swimming at this revelation.

“There was something I was supposed to tell my mother.” She began to look up toward the ceiling, an expression of concentration on her face.

“Could you tell me?” Daisy asked, hoping she could be privileged to hear this same message intended for her dead mother. “You tried to warn Coulson about something. Was it about the piece of the monolith? Robin, do...do you know where we can find the rest?” She hesitated as she noticed Robin’s expression becoming more frightened and worrisome.

“Time, it’s...it’s running out,” the old woman answered.

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

“I’m not coming.” She stood there facing Coulson in a stand-off, refusing to get onto the elevator with them. She had made up her mind. This was how she was going to save the world and save it for the people she cared about, the people whose safety had been entrusted to her.

“I know you’re scared about going home,” he responded.

“No, I’m terrified. Look around,” she cut him off, gesturing to the dystopia before them. “Billions of people gone. If there’s a chance I’m the cause...I can’t go.”

“We can get through this together,” May interjected, stepping up in her space.

May and Coulson stood before her, the two people more like parents to her than anyone else, and argued with her to convince her to go back with them. This went on for a while and Daisy was desperate to convince them to leave without her. Her heart ached knowing she would never see all the people she loved again, that she didn’t have time to say good-bye to the Team, her family. But by making this sacrifice, she would be holding up her promise to protect humanity. To protect Robin. To protect Gabe. And when she thought about never seeing Robbie again, the pain in her heart hurt a little bit more at the loss of the life she might have had with him in it. Someone who understood her and understood the weight of decisions she had to make. Someone she could be completely honest with like no one else she had ever met. With Coulson and May and even with Lincoln, she always felt like she had to protect a little part of herself from them. It was different with Robbie and she wasn’t sure why. And now she would never know.

“Take care of Robin for me,” she looked to May. “I promised her father. And Gabe, too. Robbie’s brother. Check in on him. Get the car back to him. If things do take a turn for the worse, take care of him as well. And if you see Robbie again, tell him I said thanks, that I’m grateful for what he did to help us.”

“No, we won’t,” Coulson responded. “Because you are going to do all of that.”

“You know it’s the right move,” Daisy shot back. “Coulson, as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. you taught me to fight. Now I’m making my stand...here.”

“May trained you to fight,” he answered as he turned away from her and then turned back. “I trained you to lead.”

She was too slow to react as she watched him lift his I.C.E.R. and fire it at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:  
> 1\. According to MCU canon, Hell is a specific region within the Dark Dimension.  
> 2\. In the MCU, the Spirit of Vengeance was imprisoned in Hell before escaping to Earth, vowing to never go back to his prison.  
> 3\. Any time the Ghost Rider is referenced in canon, I will try to find a way to weave that into this story.  
> 4\. Using the MCU Timeline on the Fandom wiki, Daisy's time in the Framework combined with her time in 2091 is about one week for her physical body. That kinda blew my mind to realize that. I kept thinking about how exhausted she would be and how that might affect decision-making.  
> 5\. Daisy dreaming of Robbie telling her "I'm here now" is her remembering him saying those words to her in episode 4.22. WHen he says "Don't stop here" and places a hand on her knee, it is a reflection of her words and actions toward him in the containment pod in episode 4.06.  
> 6\. Daisy spent part of her childhood in a Catholic orphanage, Saint Agnes Orphanage. In episode 5.12, Daisy shares this with Deke. So, I wrote Daisy sort of tapping into this part of her childhood praying for help, but rather than to a God, she was praying to Robbie. This also references Robbie's Ghost Rider origin story in episode 4.06 when he said he prayed to anyone who would listen.


	3. Like A Bat Out of Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robbie completes his mission and gets out of Hell. He finds Gabe and a clue to Daisy's whereabouts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter covers Robbie's experience during episodes 5.01-5.10
> 
> I kept the Dark Dimension somewhat vague. I am about to watch Runaways and Cloak & Dagger to give me more insight into the MCU's version of the Dark Dimension. I'm also in the midst of reading The All-New Ghost Rider comics.

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

It felt like a dream. Like he had been asleep when he saw her. Heard her. Asleep rather than riding along with the Spirit through a dark horrid wasteland.

They had been journeying toward the point where they were to drop off the Darkhold when he saw a flash of what he thought was a memory. They were sitting on the Zephyr and Daisy was crying. But he couldn’t remember seeing her cry like that and in that place. 

“I’m here now,” was all he could think to say to her, to try and comfort her. But something seemed off. He could still feel that sense of worry that she wasn’t safe.

“Robbie,” she said as she looked up at him. He began to see the white of the room around them turn dark. It felt ominous. He set his hand on her knee to reassure her that he was there. The room got darker and began to feel like a prison cell.

“Don’t stop here,” he warned her. She needed to get out of there. He desperately wanted to help her but felt himself being slowly pulled from the vision. The dreadful feeling spread across his face as she disappeared. 

Soon, he found himself conscious of his surroundings again. Everything was gloomy shades of black and blue. People and creatures they passed along the way engaged in unspeakable horrors. And as he tried to escape once more into the recesses of his mind, he heard her voice. But this time, the Spirit stopped in its tracks at her words. And once they no longer heard her, he felt a sense of solidarity from the Spirit. Of a common goal.

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

He couldn’t tell if it had been weeks or months or years by the time they reached their destination. Time felt different here.

“Vengeance,” he heard a voice in the distance. Robbie could see a familiar cloaked figure in the distance. “I can tell you have brought the book. I can feel it.”

Robbie felt as if he was watching the scene play out from afar as he held out the Darkhold. The figure approached them and went to reach for the book, but the Spirit pulled it back.

“I am true to my word. I will show you the way out of here,” the figure growled. “He has sent me to retrieve this. And you will be able to escape this place you consider a prison.” Robbie could see glowing green eyes glinting under the hood. Robbie got a feeling the Spirit did not trust this person or being or whatever it was.

“Alright, I will take you to him,” the figure hissed and turned toward the doors that appeared before them as the fog parted.

They walked through the doors into some sort of throne room. A dark shadowy figure sat upon the throne, eyes glowing purple in the same way the cloaked figure’s eyes glowed green. Robbie realized at that moment it was the same way his own eyes glowed orange when he let the Spirit take control.

“Morgan, I see you are trying to work your magic to get your hands on this book,” boomed the voice from the throne. "You know I will not let that happen."

Robbie watched the green-eyed figure slink away and back out the door.

“Do not worry, Vengeance,” the booming voice addressed the Spirit in Robbie. “She is indebted to me and will uphold our deal. Present the book.” The shadow on the throne gestured toward a pedestal rising from the floor at the foot of the dais. 

Robbie felt the Spirit pull his body to the pedestal and set the Darkhold on it. A glowing purple dome extended over the book like a magical fortress and then it lowered and disappeared into the floor.

“You have upheld your end of the bargain. Go now and Morgan will show you the way out.”

The Spirit turned Robbie’s body toward the doors and stopped when he heard the shadow speak again.

“But you must continue to send me souls. Do not forget your true mission. Your human vessel has a debt he must continue to pay as well. That is a deal that has yet to be fulfilled.”

⫷⫷⫷⫸⫸⫸

Using the Hell Charger as a beacon, a new skill he had gained from Morgan in the Dark Dimension, he opened a portal right to it. When he stepped through, he found himself in the garage behind his and Gabe's house. He smiled to himself thinking Daisy had something to do with his car getting back to his brother while he was gone.

He walked up the back steps of the house where he could hear voices inside. Gripping his chain, he stealthily opened the screen door. He could smell food cooking. It smelled a whole lot like his mother's chorizo tacos. He hadn't smelled that scent in a very long time and it made his heartache as he pictured her in the kitchen working away on a meal, turning to smile at him sitting at the table with his homework spread out. 

He shut his eyes tight for a moment, steeling himself before he rounded the corner into the kitchen, wishing it could really be his mother, alive and well, but fearful of some messed up dark magic that could have brought back his mother.

As he listened, he heard Gabe and a woman's voice that sounded familiar but did not belong to his mother. Opening his eyes, he continued his silent steps into the kitchen where he saw Gabe at the table and a woman with long fiery red hair at the stove.

"Robbie!" Gabe exclaimed, backing his wheelchair from the table and turning to face him, his smile so huge it practically touched both of his ears.

At that, the woman turned and gave a familiar shy smile. "Hey, Robbie, long time no see," she said softly.

He stood there a bit speechless, totally blindsided by the presence of an old classmate. Someone who used to sit right here at the very table and study with him for Calculus back in high school.

"Lisa?" He asked as if to verify he was seeing things correctly.

"It's so good to have you home, bro," Gabe added as he wheeled up to Robbie. He turned his attention back to his little brother and leaned in for a tight hug. He took in a deep breath before releasing Gabe.

"You’re just in time. Dinner will be ready soon," Lisa said cheerily as she turned back to the stove.

Robbie shot a confused look at his brother trying to prompt him to explain what the hell was going on, hoping he wouldn't have to be rude and come right out with it. Gabe in turn shrugged his shoulders with a crooked smile as he slid into one of the kitchen chairs.

"A little while after you left, I ran into Lisa at the store and she offered to drive me home so I didn't have to ride the bus with my groceries," Gabe answered his brother's silent question. "She offered to do my grocery shopping for me while you were gone and I took her up on it. And then she started cooking for me every once in a while."

"Thanks for that," Robbie said as his head hung down, feeling a bit shameful that he hadn't been there for his brother. "You really shouldn't have."

"Oh, it was nothing," Lisa turned back with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Gave me an excuse to get out of my parents' house and Gabe is good company." She looked over and smiled sweetly at his brother the same way she did back when they were in high school and Gabe was just a little kid.

"I thought you were living up in San Francisco? Some big tech job you got after Stanford?" Robbie asked as he eyed the intricately-carved wooden recipe box open on the counter. That would explain why it smelled like his mother's cooking.

"Oh, I hope you don't mind," she said, noticing what he was looking at. "I found this up in the cabinet the first night I cooked for Gabe and thought making some of your mom's food would be the best comfort for him missing you."

"No, it's fine," Robbie assured her. "I just haven't seen that since…" 

"And as for San Francisco," she continued turning back to preparing the food. "I actually created my own app and I decided it was time for me to strike out on my own. So, I moved back in with my parents. Well, technically, Dad converted the garage into a guest house for me. How cliche, right? A start-up in the garage." She laughed that same nervous sweet-sounding laugh he remembered from years ago.

"That's great. Sounds like you're doing amazing things," he responded.

"From what Gabe tells me, sounds like you are, too."

Robbie shot daggers at Gabe who put his hands up to profess his innocence. "I told Lisa how you were still working at the garage but recently started working as a private investigator." 

He watched his little brother glance back at him as if searching for his approval, hoping Robbie was okay with his lie. Robbie rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t like that Gabe had to lie for him now, but what else could he do about it? A private investigator was vague enough to easily explain him keeping weird hours, being in seedy places around seedy people, and his long absences.

“That sounds so interesting. What kind of cases do you take on?” Lisa asked as she plated the food, setting it on the table and then sliding into the nearest chair to join them.

“I don’t really like talking about my work,” Robbie answered truthfully, checking off another reason his brother’s lie worked well. It was totally understandable why he wouldn’t talk about it. 

He lifted one of the tacos off the plate in front of him and took a large bite, filling his mouth so he wouldn’t be expected to say anything else for a bit. His taste buds filled his head with memories of a better time in his life. Memories of a different life. A time when he still believed in the good life ahead of him, a life that never happened, could never happen. He set the other half of the taco back onto the plate, unable to bring himself to take another bite.

“Is something wrong? Do they not taste right? I messed them up, didn’t I,” Lisa frowned as she reached for the recipe card on the counter behind her.

“No, they’re good. Just like she used to make them,” Robbie tried to reassure her. She smiled at him in relief and went back to her meal. He listened as she and Gabe chatted back and forth, catching him up on the latest neighborhood gossip. This table hadn’t heard a lighthearted conversation like this in a long time. It brought a small sense of relief to Robbie, knowing that Gabe was getting some sense of normalcy in his life even if he couldn’t provide it.

“So, I was hoping to take Gabe up to Stanford sometime soon to meet one of my professors and take a tour. Now that you’re back, I just want to make sure you’re okay with that?” Lisa was looking at Robbie with a familiar hopeful smile, one he used to love seeing before his life went sideways.

Robbie turned to check with Gabe, “I thought you were all about the University of Chicago? Tía Cece was all ready to make her house accessible. She said you’d have good access to the El from where she lives in Pilsen and getting around the city would be a lot easier for you there than here. You did apply there, right?”

“Yes and if you were here, you would know I got accepted,” Gabe shot back with hurt painted across his face.

“You know I would have been back sooner if I could have,” Robbie said apologetically. They had been hoping he would get accepted to U of C, where he could go live closer to their mother’s family with their Aunt Cecelia looking out for him.

“I just--after spending time hanging out with Lisa, Stanford started sounding interesting and I thought I should check it out. I got accepted there, too, ya know,” Gabe explained.

“No, I didn’t know. But I’m glad you have choices,” Robbie said, thinking about the moment all his choices had disappeared. He had been Gabe’s age back then. One moment he was on his way to Stanford right alongside Lisa, the next he was a single parent taking up his father’s friend, Canelo, on a job offer as a mechanic.

“Hey, boys, how about dessert?” Lisa interrupted the melancholy in her cheery nervousness. “I haven’t been brave enough to try your mother’s flan recipe yet, but I did get some apple pie from the bakery. I’ll just warm it up and serve them with some ice cream. Why don’t you guys go relax in the living room and I’ll be right out there with the sweets.”

“Sounds great, Lisa,” Gabe smiled at her, spun in his chair, and headed into the other room.

“Dude, what’s up with your hair?” He asked Robbie almost in a whisper when they were out of earshot from Lisa.

“What? The length? I know it’s gotten a bit long, hasn’t it,” Robbie said as he ran his hand through his hair.

“No, not that. I’m talking about the huge white streak,” Gabe whispered with emphasis.

“What?” Robbie asked in confusion and stepped over to the mirror near the door. “Whoa!” He exclaimed as he ran his hand through the white streak that had appeared above his right eye.

“What’s that thing doing to you, Rob?” Gabe asked with fear and worry tinging his voice.

“Dessert is served! Get it before the ice cream melts!” Lisa exclaimed as she maneuvered into the living room with three plates, handing one to Gabe and then turning to face Robbie who still had his hand in his hair. “I like it, by the way. The hair. It’s kinda hot.” And there it was, that flirtatious look she used to give him all the time in high school. The look that let him know she was into him. A look he had reciprocated back then. But now, how could a girl like her be into a guy like him? He had too much baggage and she had too bright of a future.

And with that thought, another girl came back to his mind.

“Gabe,” he looked at his brother as he took the dessert plate and side-stepped Lisa to take a seat. “Have you heard from Daisy?”

“Um, not since May,” Gabe looked at him as if trying to get a read on how much to divulge in front of Lisa. “She called me right after you had come back just brief enough to help her out and then head off on another--case. She did say I might not hear from her for a while.” He paused before the last word. Robbie could tell he was searching for how to say things.

“Who is Daisy?” Lisa asked.

“Um--” Robbie ran his hand through his hair.

“She is one of Robbie’s new co-workers. They help each other out with investigations,” Gabe answered for him.

They sat in silence for a while as they ate their pie.

“Robbie, I got some letters from Tía Cece in my bedroom to share with you,” Gabe said when he was finished. “Could you help me make sense of some of the stuff she sent along from U of C?”

Robbie nodded in silence.

“Well, that’s my cue to get the dishes started,” Lisa said as she stood up and grabbed their plates.

“You really don’t need to do that, Lisa. I can take care of them. You’ve done enough for us,” Robbie began to follow her to the kitchen.

“It’s alright. Go spend time with your brother. You’ve got so much to catch up on,” she said as she waved her hand, dismissing him.

“You sure?”

“Yes. Yes. Now go,” she answered followed by her nervous laugh.

Robbie followed Gabe to his room.

“I got this a few days ago from the short, stocky guy in a suit wearing a lanyard who brought back the Charger. So, I figured it had to do with Daisy,” Gabe said as he handed him a postcard. 

On the front was an idyllic image of a lighthouse on a rocky shore with the words “Lake Ontario” in bold. He flipped over the card to a message scrawled on the back:

_Gone to get them back. Might need your help soon. -Fitz_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 Notes:  
> 1\. It is said that time works differently in the Dark Dimension.  
> 2\. Robbie describes in episode 4.22 that he is more like a passenger in the Dark Dimension with the Spirit in control. He also says the Spirit does a lot of killing while they are there.  
> 3\. The figure on the throne might be Dormammu. 😁  
> 4\. The cloaked figure with green eyes is Morgan Le Fay from Runaways.  
> 5\. In The All-New Ghost Rider comic, the Hell Charger acts as a portal to Hell and can also teleport Robbie to different places on Earth.  
> 6\. Robbie seems to learn new tricks when he is in the Dark Dimension. This time around, I imagined Morgan teaching him how to use his possessed Hell Charger as a beacon to open a portal back to Earth.  
> 7\. In The All-New Ghost Rider comic, Robbie and Gabe's parents died when they were young and Robbie gets custody of his brother. I imagined Robbie had to be in high school for that to happen.  
> 8\. In the comics, Lisa is a high school classmate of Robbie's that has a crush on him and attempts to bond with Gabe. She aludes to lying about failing Calculus class to Robbie. I ran with that and imagined Lisa and Robbie in Calc class together and she feigns failing to have an excuse to ask Robbie to tutor her.  
> 9\. Rolling with the idea of Gabe and Robbie being super smart. But Robbie is working hard to make sure Gabe has the opportunities Robbie missed out on because their parents died. I'm tying this into Chicago with U of C since that city plays a significant role in season 5. U of C has a lot of S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy vibes, with its history related to nuclear energy. In 1942, Enrico Fermi and his colleagues engineered the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction underneath the stands of the football stadium at U of C. This kick-started the Manhattan Project. So I'm creating a possibility of future S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists enrolled in programs at schools like U of C.  
> 10\. The comic book Robbie has a streak of white in his hair.  
> 11\. Lanyard = Koenig  
> 12\. Runaways SPOILER WARNING below VVVVV  
> V  
> V  
> V  
> V  
> V  
> V  
> V  
> Morgan Le Fay ends up with the Darkhold at some point after Robbie returning it to the Dark Dimension.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Your kudos, subscriptions, and bookmarks bring a smile to my face. Your comments keep me motivated and writing.  
> Come find me on tumblr @sapphire-reverie


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